Camming beat-up mechanism for looms



Sheet of 4 Feb. 4, 1969 R. L. VOLPE CAMMING BEAT-UP MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed March 23, 1967 22M QM ATTORNEY v KWG I i 9 .3 3 Q a 1 f 1 W m i... Wu I U .1 fll l Feb. 4, 1969 R. VOLPE. 3,425,459

CAMMING BEAT-UP MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed March 25, 1967 Sheet 21 Of 4 Mn 3 m: h

I 1' v I I l l "-1 r"; 1 I i LETJ ll if A F y (\l I. v I l i I i l@' I N Q 1 I JET F J" III Feb. 4, 1969 R. L. VOLPE 3,425,459

CAMMING BEAT-UP MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed March 23, 1967 Sheet 5 of 4 INVENTOR. R1 CHARD LVOLPE ATTORNEY Feb. 4, 1969 R. VOLPE 3,425,459

CAMMING BEAT-UP MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed March 23, 1967 Sheet 4 Of 4 INVENTOR. RICHARDL.VOLPE am QM A TTORNE Y United States Patent 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A mechanism for providing near-vertical motion to a loom reed which has a camming face for beating-up picks of filling along a generally horizontal plane.

Background of the invention The invention pertains to loom beat-up means and more particularly to means for actuating the lay and reed by an up and down motion in a position adjacent the fell of the woven fabric. The face of the reed being angular to the perpendicular, will, on its downward stroke, cam the pick of filling to a beat-up point at the fell.

In fly-shuttle as well as shuttleless type looms, beat-up action has generally been effected by reciprocating a lay and reed upon a pair of pivotable swords between forward and back positions. The extent of the reciprocating movement has had to be sufficient to permit the filling carrier to pass forwardly of the reed within the warp shed. To allow reciprocation of the lay, a considerable space is required between the fell and the harness frames which move vertically in forming each warp shed. The rearward positioning of the harness frames demands greater cam throw than might be desirable and restricts loom speed increases to some degree. The instant invention allows the frames to be placed much nearer the fell than has been previously possible by reason of a nearvertical beat-up movement of the reed.

Summary This invention relates to improvements in the beat-up mechanism for looms whereby consecutive picks of filling are forced into the fell in the formation of a woven fabric. The mechanism disclosed herein offers advantages through speed increases, reductions in power requirements, and in reduced over-all loom widths.

It is a general object of the invention to provide mechanism for beating-up filling which shall function in an up and down motion generally perpendicular to the warp line.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a reed, which upon its downward stroke, will present to the pick of filling a camming face disposed at an angle to the reeds direction of movement.

It is a further object to provide a beat-up mechanism which shall eliminate the necessity for pivoting swords and the reciprocating drive parts.

It is a further object to provide a means for beating-up picks of filling by moving a reed downwardly on a nearvertical plane whereby reductions in over-all loom widths are possible through the elimination of previously required mechanism.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent as further details are disclosed.

Brief description of the drawings The invention will be described by reference to a specific embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying figures of drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevation partially in section of the mechilnlSm at the right-hand end as viewed from within the FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the invention as supported by two loom-sides shown in section;

FIG. 3 is a plan view with the shafts removed;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation in perspective of the reed prior to beat-up;

FIG. 5 is. an elevation of the left-hand end as viewed from within the loom showing the filling carrier in an open shed;

FIG. 6 is similar to FIG. 5 with the reed starting its beat-up stroke; and

FIG. 7 is similar to FIG. 5, showing the reed in the beat-up position.

Description of the preferred embodiment Now referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, loomsides 20 and 21 are shown with a filling control case 22 and a top motion 23 supported thereon. The invention is disclosed as being applied to a well known shuttleless type loom, however, it is to be understood that the application could be made to other shuttleless types as well as to fly-shutt-le looms.

Harness frames 24 and 25 (FIG. 1) are shown without their suspending or pull-down mechanisms to illustrate the relative forward position of the frames. A plurality of warp ends 26 are individually drawn through heddles 27 carried by the frames 24 and 25. The woven fabric 28 is held to its maximum width by temples 29 and 30 fastened at either side of the loom (FIGS. 1 and 5). The fell 31 of a portion of the fabric 28 is shown in FIG. 4 with the temple 30 removed. A pick of filling 32 is also shown extending through a warp shed formed in the usual way with the warp ends 26. The filling 32 can be inserted in numerous ways but in this instance a filling carrier 33 (FIG. 5) is shown in its inserting and withdrawing position relative to the shed.

With the instant invention the pick of filling 32 will be beat-up to the fell 31 by means moving in an up-down motion rather than a reciprocal forward and backward arc. This permits positioning of the frames 24 and 25 closer to the fell 31 than has been normally possible and numerous benefits .are obtained thereby.

A bracket 34 is fixed to loomside 20 (FIGS. 2, 3, and 5) by bolts 35 and it supports two upwardly inclined slide rods 36 and 37, each being firmly secured by a screw 38 drawing against a flange 39. A driven shaft 40 protrudes through the upper edge of the bracket 34 (FIG. 5) and extends the full width of the loom by being journalled in loomsides 20 and 21 with bearings 4.1 and 42. A bracket 43, similar to bracket 34 in all respects except its size, is bolted to the loomside 21 by bolts 44. Inasmuch as the mechanism is the same on both sides of the loom, only the left-hand set of parts will be fully explained. It will be understood that reference numerals may be read interchangeably in drawings of the right-hand side.

The shaft 40 is driven by a continually rotating loom drive shaft 45 through interconnecting link chain 46 acting upon sprockets 47 and 48. The timing is such that shaft 40 will make one revolution per pick of filling by the loom. A cam 49 is tightened to rotate with the shaft 40 for actuation in a manner to be explained below.

A slide bracket 50 (FIGS. 2 and 3) is slidably retained upon the rods 36' and 37 for straight line motion only and may include bushings 51 and 52 for reducing friction. The bracket 50 supports a cam follower roller 53 upon a stud 54 in a position to be in constant contact with the cam 49 with tension being furnished by springs 55 and 56 fastened between brackets 34 and 50. It will be seen that the slide bracket 50 will rise and -fall according to the dictates of the cam 49. Bracket 50 has two separated arms 57 and 58 (FIG. 3) extending inwardly of the loom for supporting a lay beam 59 having an upwardly facing raceway 60 upon which the filling carrier 33 may travel (FIG. The lay beam 59 is fastened between the arms 57 and 58 by screws,61 with a separator block 62 inserted to insure a rigid connection.

A reed, generally designated 63 is fastened by screws 64 through the reed base 65 to the rear upright wall of the lay beam 59. The base 65 holds a plurality of reed dents 66 in separation with predetermined spacing in any known manner aided by a reed cap 67. The reed dents 66 are identical and tilt forwardly at an oblique angle to the line of movement determined by the slide rods 36 and 37. The forwardly directed edges 68 of the reed dents 66 serve to cam the pick of filling 32 toward the fell 31 as shown in the sequence of drawings from FIGS. 4 to 7. During the downward stroke of the device, which follows a near-vertical plane tilted slightly toward the rear, the pick of filling is urged toward the fell and beatup occurs at the rather abrupt low point of the cam 49 or at the bottom of the stroke. The lay beam 59 and the raceway 60 are in a carrier-supporting position at the top of the stroke when the filling is inserted to the shed. The cam 49 provides a dwell on the order of a quarter of a revolution for the insertion to take place. The lay moves to a non-supporting position below the shed during the downward stroke in contrast to the usual forward reciprocation in other known looms.

In operation, the shaft 40 with the cam 49 will raise and lower the slide bracket 50 in straight-line motion as it follows the inclined relatively fixed slide rods 36 and 37. As the top of the stroke is reached, the raceway 60 indexes with filling inserting guides 69-70 and 71 on either side of the loom which allows a pick of filling to be inserted. On the downward stroke that pick will be cammed smoothly toward the fell in consequence of the combination of forwardly tilted reed dents 66 and the rearwardly tilted line of movement of reed 63. Beat up will occur at the low point of the stroke and the cycle will repeat.

The instant invention successfully solves the objectives stated above by providing for a generally vertical beat-up to fabric being woven on a horizontal warp line. In relation to previous means, the beat-up stroke is shortened, the harness frames may be positioned further forward, thus requiring reduced harness cam throw, power requirements are reduced and loom speeds may be increased.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive concept may be carried out in a number of ways. This invention is, therefore, not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to embrace all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a loom having warp yarns for weaving fabric, means for separating said warp yarns in forming a shed, filling inserting means for laying a pick of filling in said shed, and a mechanism for beating-up said pick of filling to the fell of said fabric which comprises:

(a) a reed having reed dents supported in separation and between which said warp yarns are adapted to pass,

(b) drive means including reed supporting slide brackets for providing reciprocal straight-line motion to said reed in a near-vertical plane,

(c) said reed dents each having a forwardly directed edge, and

(d) said edges collectively forming a filling camming surface for urging the pick of filling into the fell during the reciprocal motion of said reed.

2. Mechanism as defined in claim 1 wherein said forwardly directed edges extend at an oblique angle to the line of motion of said reed.

3. Mechanism as defined in claim 2 wherein said forwardly directed edges are adapted to effect a camming action upon said filling during the downward reciprocal motion and to beat-up at the bottom of said stroke of said reed.

4. Mechanism as defined in claim 3 which further includes a lay beam for carrying said reed and being movable therewith, said lay beam having an upwardly facing raceway for supporting said inserting means while laying said pick of filling, said raceway being in a supporting position when said reed reaches the top of its stroke.

5. Mechanism as defined in claim 4 wherein said drive means includes:

(a) raising means for transporting said lay and said reed to the top of the reciprocal stroke, and

(b) lowering means for transporting said lay and said reed to the bottom of the reciprocal stroke,

(c) said raceway being movable to a non-supporting position below the warp shed when said reed approaches the bottom of its stroke.

6. Mechanism as defined in claim 5 wherein said drive means further includes:

(a) upwardly inclined fixed slide supporting means,

and

(b) slide means movably retained by said supporting means,

(c) said lay being mounted upon said slide means for reciprocal movement therewith.

7. Mechanism as defined in claim 6 wherein said raising means includes cam and cam follower members for providing up and down movement to said slide means.

8. Mechanism as defined in claim 7 wherein said lowering means includes tension springs for maintaining said cam follower in contact with said cam, said cam follower being rotatably mounted upon said slide means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,337,431 12/1943 Turner 139-190 2,381,028 8/1945 Bartholomew 139188 2,587,009 2/ 1952 Sutherland 139-188 FOREIGN PATENTS 569,913 2/1933 Germany.

HENRY S. JAUDON, Primary Examiner. 

